Cyberpunk 2077 fans will get 'hands-on opportunities' with the Phantom Liberty expansion before it launches

Idris Elba in Cyberpunk 2077
(Image credit: CD Projekt)

CD Projekt said on Twitter today that it will start talking about the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 expansion Phantom Liberty in June—and then immediately broke that pledge by talking about the expansion in literally the same tweet.

"ICYMI, we'll start talking about Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty this June!" the studio tweeted. "At @summergamefest: Play Days, we'll have hands-on sessions for press and content creators. We're also planning plenty of hands-on opportunities for our community at a later date, so stay tuned!"

Following the troubled launch of Cyberpunk 2077, which was delayed multiple times after its 2012 announcement (at one point leading to death threats against developers) before being hustled out the door in rough shape at the end of 2020, CD Projekt said in 2021 that it's going to take a much more conservative approach to its marketing efforts with future releases.

Since then, the studio has played its cards close to the vest: We know it has three new Witcher projects in the works including Witcher 4, a remake of the original, and a spinoff that seems to be struggling, along with something entirely new currently codenamed Hadar

But the hype machine remains cold, and we have no details on any of them—the dearth of information is such that we found it exciting when CD Projekt CEO Adam Kiciński simply said the words "Witcher 4" out loud during a recent investors call.

See more

"Hands-on opportunities for our community" is a little vague, so CD Projekt clarified, very slightly, that it means "our community will also get a chance to play the game before the release." That's not terribly explicit either—are we talking open beta, or play sessions at PAX, or maybe giving pre-release builds to streamers?—but the studio is playing this one close to the vest for now as well: In an email sent to PC Gamer, a representative said only that "we plan to give a similar hands-on experience to press, content creators, and community."

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.